Fast Facts About Super Bowl LVI
It’s about that time! We are two days away from Super Bowl LVI, where Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams will take on Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Fast facts:
- The game, which will be played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA, will kick off at 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT on NBC.
- Though the Rams will be at their home stadium, the Bengals will be the home team. The Rams would like to be the second consecutive team to win the Lombardi Trophy on their home turf.
- It will be country singer Mickey Guyton performing the nation anthem, while R&B single Jhené Aiko will perform “America the Beautiful”, and gospel duo Mary Mary will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before kickoff.
- The broadcast team includes Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (color commentary), Michele Tafoya and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporters) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst).
- Billie Jean King, alongside team captains of the California School for the Deaf-Riverside Cubs, members of the High School Girls Flag League of Champions and girls youth tackle football players from the Ingewood Chargers and the Watts Rams will be the Legendary Coin Toss Captains for Super Bowl LVI. Before coming onto the field, King will narrate a tribute to the 50thanniversary of Title IX.
The Quarterbacks
We’ve got Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow each going for their first Super Bowl victory.
Stafford is 6’3”, 220 lbs. and turned 34 on Feb. 7. Happy Birthday! He attended the University of Georgia and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2009. Stafford played his whole career in Detroit, until Sean McVay and the Rams brought him to LA. He wears No. 9.
Burrow is 6’4”, 216 lbs. and is 25 years of age. He was drafted by the Bengals out of LSU in 2020. He also wears No. 9. After suffering a season-ending knee injury in his rookie season, Burrow, aka Joe Cool, has his team in the Super Bowl in only his second season in the league. Should the the Bengals win, Burrow will join Joe Montana and Joe Namath (QBs named Joe, amirite?) as the only quarterbacks to win both a CFP National Championship and a Super Bowl. He would be the first quarterback to win the aforementioned two championships and the Heisman Trophy.
The Game – Part 1
The road to the Super Bowl was not an easy one for either team. The Rams blew a 24-point lead and came thisclose to losing in the divisional round, before trailing in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game. Matthew Stafford also came thisclose to handing the 49ers the NFC, but was the recipient of a dropped interception. Meanwhile, the Bengals made an epic comeback, aided by a Kansas City Chiefs meltdown, in the AFC championship, and here we are.
One big storyline of the game is the Bengals not-so-awesome offensive line versus the Rams oh-so-awesome defensive front that includes Aaron Donald, Von Miller and Leonard Floyd. Joe Burrow was sacked nine times in Cincinnati’s divisional round game against the Titans. NINE. Burrow is going to have to get that ball out and quick for Cincinnati to keep pace.
For the Rams, they tend to go how Matthew Stafford goes. When he’s on, they’re on. When he’s not, well, you get the picture. Stafford led the league in interceptions this season with 17 – four of which were pick-6s – and that right there is his Achilles heel. Generally, the Rams need to take care of the football. If they win the turnover battle, they have a good chance at winning it all.
What about the superstars, you say? Let’s talk halftime and then we’ll get there.
The Halftime Show
The game will be great. The halftime show may be even better, when hip-hop legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar take the stage.
This will be the first Super Bowl halftime show to feature hip hop as the main act, which is almost hard to believe. At a press conference this week, Dr. Dre said, “We’re gonna open more doors for hip hop artists in the future and making sure that the NFL understands this is what it should have been a long time ago.”
*A lawsuit has been filed against Snoop Dogg that alleges violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, sexual battery and sexual assault. Snoop Dogg has denied the allegations.
The Game – Part 2 and Prediction
It wouldn’t be LA without superstars, and this game has a lot of them. The Rams have all the glitz and glamour, from Stafford to Aaron Donald to Cooper Kupp to Odell Beckham Jr. to Jalen Ramsey. The Bengals have Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. All of these players are literal game-changers. One sack, one interception, one crucial third down, one field goal can make the difference, and these teams are where they are because their stars have come out to play.
And that will be the difference on Sunday. Whose stars will shine the brightest? Conventional wisdom, analysis, stats and numbers say it will be the Los Angeles Rams, but who needs all that when Joe Burrow is on the field? This Fangirl used to have the “I never bet against Tom Brady” mantra. I’m passing it to Joe Burrow and picking the Bengals, because, why not. Somebody has to win. Enjoy the game!